| Plan it Out / the OS |
| Plan by Function |
| Tweeking Speed |
| Salvaging Parts |
| Discount PC Parts |
| Key Considerations |
|
Primary Components
|
| Case and Power |
| CPU (Processor) |
| Motherboards |
| Buying RAM |
| Hard Drives |
|
Secondary Components
|
| Video Output |
| CD /DVD /Floppy |
| Sound Cards |
| Getting Online |
|
Peripherals
|
| Keyboard / Mouse |
| Printer / Scanner |
| Monitors / Displays |
| Computer Speakers |
| Getting Started >>> |
| Choosing and Installing Software >>> |
| Optimizing and Overclocking your PC >>> |
Depending on what you choose to build your own home computer for, you may want to tweek the speed by overclocking or underclocking the machine. Use caution though, because these options do have costly consequences if you fail to plan accordingly.
Overclocking
Overclocking is running components of a computer at faster internal speeds than those for which the components were designed. If you plan to overclock your components, some parts respond to overclocking better than others. If you are going to seriously overclock your computer, you need to do extensive research into the components you are selecting. Components that respond well to heavy overclocking are generally not very expensive, although the price of a component is by no means a guarantee of its overclocking potential. It is also important to check your warranties before overclocking. Overclocking sometimes voids your warranty. Overclocking is very risky (you can destroy your entire computer), so be warned! You need to make considerations for cooling the computer as overclocking generates heat. Anything from a few extra fans to a liquid-cooled system may be necessary depending on the nature of your system.
Underclocking
This can be ideal for always-on entertainment systems. Similar considerations as mentioned above for selecting tweakable components. Underclocking allows passive cooling to be used on the underclocked components and results in a silent and energy-efficient system. The risk here is not destroying your computer, as with overclocking, but instead you may experience problems with hard-disk data integrity. It is a good idea to back up your disk data periodically on a non-volatile medium, such as DVDs or tape.
